The major objectives of this work are: (i) to determine the differences between lifting capabilities (maximum acceptable weight of lift) of industrial and student populations, by collecting experimental data under identical conditions and (ii) to quantify patterns of these differences. Using the psychophysical approach, thirty-seven male and 37 female students will determine (subjectively) the maximum amount of weight they are willing to lift for a given combination of task variables. Three task variables will be studied: box size, frequency of lift, and height of lift. Their levels will be identical to those used for industrial subjects. The maximum acceptable weight of lift data, generated on the student population, will be compared with similar data already collected on industrial subjects to quantify the differences. Statistical techniques will be used to analyze differences between student and industrial workers. The pattern(s) of these differences will be used to modify results of some specific studies, conducted on students, dealing with asymmetrical loading, for the industrial workforce. It is hoped that difference pattern(s) identified in this research will also provide a logical basis for extending the results of many other past (or future) studies, which have been (or will be) conducted on students, to the industrial population.